GEC-ESTRO was formed in 1990 from the amalgamation of the The Groupe Européen de Curiethérapie (GEC) and the European SocieTy for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO). Prior to this, GEC had been an independent group of experts, formed in the mid 1960s, who were interested in all aspects of brachytherapy and responsible for organising annual meetings.

This merge has enabled brachytherapy to strengthen its impact in Europe and improve the administrative aspects of education, collaboration and research in brachytherapy.

The GEC-ESTRO Committee supervises and coordinates all activities of GEC-ESTRO on a regular basis, in particular is responsible for:

  • Research and Development
  • Brachytherapy publications
  • Representation on ESTRO bodies
  • Liaison with brachytherapy societies outside ESTRO
  • Proposal of members of the Editorial Board and the Editor for Brachytherapy for Radiotherapy and Oncology
  • Election of Chairs
  • Selection of awardees for the Iridium 192 award and the Marie Curie medal

The backbone of the GEC-ESTRO committee are the activities of the working groups. Working Groups focus on relevant topics, which address research and development, education, and healthcare in the context of brachytherapy. Working Groups are defined by the GEC-ESTRO Committee.

GEC-ESTRO also collaborates with other groups and supports three awards in brachytherapy.

The Standard operation procedure (SOP) of the committee is available here.

The GEC-ESTRO handbook can be found on the e-library.

GEC-ESTRO assembly 7 May 2022 recording.

Chair: Frank-André Siebert, Medical Physicist, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (DE) 

Past Chair: Vratislav Strnad, Radiation Oncologist, University Hospital Erlangen (DE) 

Chair-Elect: Jean-Michel Hannoun-Levi, Radiation Oncologist, University of Côte d'Azur (FR)  

Secretary: Andrea Slocker Escarpa, Radiation Oncologist, Institut Català d'Oncologia (ES) 

Chair Brachy-HERO: Peter Niehoff, Radiation Oncologist, Sana Klinikum Offenbach (DE) 

Chair BRAPHYQS: Åsa Carlsson-Tedgren, Medical Physicist, Karolinska Institute (SE) 

Chair Breast: Csaba Polgár, Radiation Oncologist, National Institute of Oncology (HU) 

Chair GI-GEC: Alexandra Stewart, Radiation Oncologist, University of Surrey (UK)  

Chair Gynaecology: Kari Tanderup, Medical Physicist, Aarhus University Hospital (DK) 

Chair Head & Neck and Skin: Luca Tagliaferri, Radiation Oncologist, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS (IT) 

Chair UroGEC: Alfonso Gómez-Iturriaga, Radiation Oncologist, Osakidetza Health Center Vitoria-Gasteiz (ES) 

Piotr Wojcieszek, Radiation Oncologist, Maria Sklodowska - Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Gliwice Branch (PL)

Pediatric Task Force Observer: Cyrus Chargari, Radiation Oncologist, University Hospital Pitié-Salpetrière (FR) 

Young Committee Observer: Daniel Portik, Radiation Oncologist, Maastro (NL) 

Education Council Representative: Alina Sturdza, Radiation Oncologist, Medical University of Vienna (AT) 

Scientific Council Representative: Ina Jürgenliemk-Schulz, Radiation Oncologist, University Medical Centre (NL)  

 

Former Chairs: 

Ina Jürgenliemk-Schulz, Radiation Oncologist, University Medical Centre (NL)  

Bradley Pieters, Radiation Oncologist, Amsterdam University Medical Centers (NL) 

Christian Kirisits, Medical Physicist, Medical University of Vienna (AT) 

There are six brachytherapy working groups. Please click on the links below for further information about the activities of the group.

GEC-ESTRO Breast - Chair: Csaba Polgár

GEC-ESTRO Head and Neck and Skin - Chair: Luca Tagliaferri

GEC-ESTRO Urology - Chair: Alfonso Gómez-Iturriaga

GEC-ESTRO Gynaecology - Chair: Kari Tanderup

GEC-ESTRO BRAPHYQS - Chair: Åsa Carlsson-Tedgren

GEC-ESTRO Gastro-Intestinal - Chair: Alex Stewart

GEC-ESTRO Brachy- HERO (Health Economics) - Chair: Peter Niehoff

Under the auspices of GEC ESTRO, the GEC-ESTRO Handbook of Brachytherapy is published aiming at clinicians, physicists and radiotherapy technologists worldwide. The textbook covers the basics of brachytherapy, including the physics and radiobiology, and describes in detail all aspects of clinical practice.

First published in 2002, the handbook is currently under review. A second edition is available for a number of chapters, while for several other chapters an update is planned in the near future.